Around 90 Orthodox icons, rarities of the 14-19th centuries are displayed at the exhibition Orthodox Icon of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus which opened in the Minsk National Museum of Arts on September 30. The exhibition was formed from the stocks of the National Kiev-Pechersk Cave Monastery Historical and Cultural Reserve, the State Tretiakov Gallery and the Belarus National Museum of Arts.

The project is timed to the 1020th anniversary of the Baptism of Kiev Rus. From May 29 to July 13, the exhibition was showcased in the State Tretiakov Gallery of Moscow. After this, it was displayed in the National Kiev-Pechersk Cave Monastery Historical and Cultural Reserve of Kiev from July 29 to September 14. In Minsk, the exhibition is held under the auspices of the British American Tobacco Trading Company.

It is the first project when the every Slavonic country presents 30 best icons. The main goal of the exhibition is to show the peculiarity and consanguinity of fine arts of the three Slavonic nations who have common roots, common sources and the common teacher – Byzantium.

Belarusian exhibits demonstrate the variety of styles of the Belarusian icon: from the icons which keep the Byzantium traditions to the icons which present the periods of baroque and classicism. The icon painting is presented from various regions of Belarus, mainly from the Brest, Mogilev and Gomel oblasts.

The Tretiakov Gallery features the oldest icons (the 14-16th centuries) from the old Russian art centers – Yaroslavl, Suzdal, Velikiy Novgorod, Pskov and Moscow.

Visitors of the exhibition will be able to see the images of saints – princes Boris and Gleb, their father – Kiev Prince Vladimir who baptized Kiev Rus, Metropolitan of Rostov Demetrius. The exhibition will present the icons “The Holy Mother of Vladimir”, “The Virgin Hodigitria”, “The Dormition of the Virgin” and others.

The Ukrainian icons allow us to follow the way of the development of icon painting during the 16-19th centuries from the post-Byzantium times to the baroque epoch. the National Kiev-Pechersk Cave Monastery Historical and Cultural Reserve features the icons from the various regions of Ukraine – Volyn, Galicia, Kiev and the Kiev region, Chernigov which were the leading art centres during various stages of the development of the Ukrainian national icon painting school.

The Belarusian Exarchate has prepared catalogue “Orthodox Icon of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus”. It also intends to shoot a movie.

The exhibition resumed the cooperation between the museums, Sergei Kolevits, the director of the National Kiev-Pechersk Cave Monastery Historical and Cultural Reserve, noted. He expressed hope that the cooperation between museums of the three countries will be intensified.